Multiple fire crews are in attendance this morning at Large factory fire at Overross Industrial Est, Ross on Wye in #Herefordshire.

Photograph courtesy of Ade Farmer (Group Commander HWFRS)

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have 10 appliances on site with support from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Great effort from all crews especially the first pumps from Ross-on Wye-Fire Station who established a sound IC structure.

Photograph courtesy of Ade Farmer (Group Commander HWFRS)

The Guardian 1st May 2022:

‘Dental deserts’ form in England as dentists quit NHS, experts warn

Patients struggle to get treatment as report says health service has lowest number of dentists for a decade

‘My teeth still hurt’: patients unable to get on to NHS dentists’ lists

The number of dentists providing NHS care in England fell from 23,733 at the end of 2020 to 21,544 at the end of January this year, according to the latest NHS figures, which have been obtained by the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) under freedom of information laws.

Given that dentists each have a caseload of about 2,000 patients, the depletion of the workforce has left an estimated 4m people without access to NHS care. The NHS now has the smallest number of dentists it has had for a decade, according to the ADG, which represents major chains of surgeries.

Access to NHS dental care is now so limited that people in some areas are forced to wait three years for an appointment. The difficulty obtaining treatment is one of the public’s main sources of frustration with the health service, with just one in three people satisfied with dental services.

Many are forced to go private, after seeking an NHS dentist in vain, in order to have problems resolved. Some have rung dozens of surgeries in their area in a vain quest to be accepted as an NHS patient, or had to travel outside their home area to get it. A growing number of dental surgeries do little or no NHS-funded work, citing problems with the dental contract.

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I am resigned to go private as The NHS has been ruined by this Conservative government. Their plan of creative chaos is working wonders and I see Bill Gates is winding us up for another spate of Coronavirus and new vaccines - worse than the last lot.

Lidl are to hold a Public Meeting at Three Counties Hotel on Wednesday 11th May 12:00noon - 19:00

Further to our previous breaking news article here https://hfd.news/bgq regarding the Lidl supermarket planning application to demolish the Three Counties Hotel and change it into a supermarket and immediate backlash this has caused this meeting was inevitable.

Lidl have also confirmed that they plan to have a dedicated website and we will advise once this becomes live.

It is important that anyone with objections to this planning application, send in their individual letters (can be done on the Herefordshire Council planning portal) outlining their concerns and objections based on planning law ie, traffic, local disturbance, noise levels etc.

You can also sign our Petition https://chng.it/bWYtFHb78S

#HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #Hereford

People could find themselves being issued with an instant fine for revving their engines, playing loud music or just being a general nuisance in local car park.

Public order comes into force for Hereford car park.

Herefordshire Council has introduced a public spaces protection order for Garrick multi-storey car park in Widemarsh Street in Hereford.

The order comes into force on Sunday 1 May 2022.

Having consulted on the matter, the order is being implemented to reduce the antisocial behaviour that has been happening in the car park.

As well as posting news of the order on our website, we will place signs within the car park. Implementing the order allows the council and the police to issue on-the-spot fines to offenders.

Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s head of public protection, economy and environment, says:

“We hope local residents will be reassured that the council is working to make all our public spaces free from all forms of antisocial behaviour. Nuisance behaviour, including drinking alcohol and playing loud music in open spaces, can blight people’s lives. In the worst cases, the antisocial behaviour of just a few can deter the many from enjoying some of our most precious public spaces. Clearly, that’s unfair on them, so this order will make Garrick multi-storey car park a more welcoming place in future for everyone to use. It will also protect the nearby residents from the noise and nuisance caused by gangs revving cars, loud car stereos and all the other sorts of antisocial behaviour associated with these activities.”

Hereford Voice have learned that plans are about to be submitted to turn the Three Counties Hotel on the notorious Belmont Road in Hereford into a Lidl Supermarket.

The A465 is possibly the worst main road into the city with daily congestion, adding another supermarket here would just make this road even worse.

There are often huge queues of traffic waiting to enter the McDonalds Drive-Thru regularly blocking the road in both directions.

On the plans below there is also another Drive-Thru earmarked which could possibly be a coffee Drive-Thru near to to the Brook.

Local residents have already started a petition in an attempt to block this going ahead.

An Extraordinary Meeting of the Belmont Parish Council will be held at the Kindle Centre (Asda) on Thursday 5th May 2022 at 7.30pm to discuss and agree a formal response to the Three Counties Hotel Hybrid application for demolition of existing hotel and build a Lidl Supermarket.

Monday 9 May, 9.30am – 10.30am

Hereford Cathedral launches a brand-new Toddler Group for young children and their grown-ups.

Starting on 9 May, and meeting at 9.30 am every Monday in term-time, the Toddler Group will be open to children aged 1-3, and free for families to attend. Taking place inside the beautiful cathedral, the sessions will be led by cathedral staff and volunteers. After a bible story, children will be able to take part in a craft activity, enjoy playing together and finish the session with a song - lots of fun, and refreshments will be available for both parents and toddlers.

Sarah Brown, the Dean of Hereford, is excited, “I’m so happy to invite the tiniest children, and their parents and carers, to come in and discover what a great place this amazing cathedral can be. The cathedral really is a place for little children, because it is God’s house, and He tells us to welcome the little children in his name. This time of fun (with a bit of learning thrown in) is our gift to the little ones, and hopefully a time of rest and refreshment for parents and carers too.”

William Talbot-Ponsonby, Head of Education & Family Learning, adds: “we are so looking forward to launching our Toddler Group in May. It’s open to all, whether you visit the cathedral regularly or have never stepped through the doors – we see it as a great opportunity for us to welcome in new people and to share our wonderful building. If you would also like to help out in running the sessions, please contact me at education@herefordcathedral.org, as I am always on the lookout for enthusiastic volunteers to help share their Christian knowledge and inspire young people.”

The Toddler Group will be free to attend, and advance booking is not required – just turn up on the day. If you would like to find out more about the group, please email education@herefordcathedral.org.

It seems that money is not a problem for the Council

£54,000. for a room and desk booking system. This will be on top of the costs of the project team attending demonstrations.

Can nobody get a grip of this spending

https://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50099879/Award of contract for room and desk booking solution.pdf

West Mercia Police (OPU) arrested a male for threatening members of the public with a large length of wood in Hereford.

Driver was reported for no insurance, driving without a valid MOT and the vehicle was seized by Police.

West Mercia Police were called to the Hampton Bishop area of Hereford at around 8pm last night following a report of an assault and robbery.

A woman was injured during the incident and has been transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for treatment. Her injuries are not life threatening.

Officers attended and a thorough search of the local area was conducted, with support from the National Police Air Service.

Officers remained on scene overnight and this morning.

Insp Dan Pilkington, said “we understand that a heavy police presence can be alarming, but would like to reassure residents that we believe this to be a contained incident with no threat to the wider community.

“Enquiries are going, and in the meantime there will continue to be a visible police presence in the area to provide reassurance.”

The new store building work has significantly progressed in the past few weeks and the store is on schedule to open on Saturday 14th May.

In our series, we continue to focus on the very important work and training that Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews undergo on a regular basis.

Last night firefighters from Leintwardine Fire Station were making the most of the nights getting lighter and last night's drill saw them creating a water relay system on the village green.

"Pumping from open water to a dam and then from a dam to the main pump. A great drill to practice and utilise our learned skills and techniques"

Thank you to the crews and to all our emergency services for the vital work and support they provide to the community.

📸 HWFRS

Significant investment will support continued improvements to Herefordshire Children’s Services

Herefordshire Council Cabinet approved £11.49m funding at a meeting held on Thursday 31 March 2022, to support the ongoing improvements in Herefordshire Children’s Social Care Services.

The funding will help to ensure the council’s Children’s Services are adequately resourced and can provide a more secure and resilient service to Herefordshire children and their families in the future.

Corporate Director for Children and Young People, Darryl Freeman, said:

“The £11.49m investment provides us with security to support our significant and lasting improvements to Herefordshire Children’s Services.

“It means we will be able to offer our valued Social Workers a realistic workload, experienced managerial support and professional ways of working. It will help us to continue to build Herefordshire Children’s Social Care Services into a desirable place to come and work with a good work/life balance in a beautiful, family-friendly environment.

“Previous funding has already led to increased stability of our workforce, reduced caseloads for some staff, increased levels of personal and case supervisions, and increased frequency of visits to children and young people and their families. This additional funding will allow us to make many more changes, more quickly to improve our social work practice to support the children and families in the county that are most in need.”

A Viking drama that unravelled a few years ago, has led the battle for cultural recovery in #Herefordshire as the county commits itself to improving its libraries and museums.

The campaign to return the Herefordshire Hoard, an Anglo Saxon and Viking age treasure, buried around c.878 and discovered in Eye, near #Leominster, by detectorists in 2015, was launched with a Viking Fun Day at the Rowing Club on 10 April.

The story of the hoard is an intriguing detective story which will be featured in Hereford’s refurbished Museum when the treasure finally returns to the county. By that time it is hoped that the current Museum and library will be a ‘world-class’ museum, sitting alongside jewels like Hereford Cathedral, the Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library.

Gemma Davies, Coalition councillor has been championed the creation of the new Museum, and moving the Library to Maylord Orchard where it will sit alongside a Learning Resource Centre creating a community hub in the heart of Hereford.

Speaking after the success of the Viking Fun Day, Gemma said: ‘It was absolutely packed when I got there ! Full of young people excited about history. I loved it and this is exactly what we will be able to do all the time in the new museum. We want to use our past to help enthuse a love of learning in our future.’

Leominster’s incoming mayor, Trish Marsh, said bold moves to save libraries and museums have saved Herefordshire’s culture. ‘‘When the Coalition was voted in during May 2019 elections the museum was about to be totally written out of the budget and the libraries were also on a steep downward trajectory. Now the position is entirely different and the redevelopment of the Hereford Museum and Art Gallery to create a new high quality visitor attraction has been approved – and funding is being found to develop our ideas into reality. This will only be good news for our heritage and cultural recovery and economy as we build on the incredible strengths and resources in the county.’

‘We know that once the hoard is back, we will be able to feature some of its glory here in Leominster, not far from where it was buried all those years ago. It’s terribly exciting at a time when there seems to be so much bad news around.’

Gemma Davies said: ‘Herefordshire’s Delivery Plan for 2022-23 has committed itself to investment and improvement of libraries and museums as part of the county’s economic, cultural, environmental and family recovery plans.’

Davies said: ‘The Delivery Plan is ambitious, but we are realistic about the scale of the challenge - the loss of government funding, rising costs and changing demands means facing tough choices about where to focus resources. Our day to day services are crucial for residents to get on with their everyday lives, for businesses to thrive, and provide support to people at different stages of their lives. This delivery plan focuses on commitments beyond those day to day services to show how the council will continue improving life in life in Herefordshire.

The council’s achievements from the past year and upcoming priority areas of work are outlined in a new Delivery Plan 2022/23

Two years ago, the council set out its vision for Herefordshire in the County Plan 2020-24. How the council is progressing towards meeting these ambitions and its priorities for the coming year are outlined in a new Delivery Plan 2022/23, which has been agreed by Cabinet.

The County Plan 2020-24 describes how the council will work to ensure a thriving county by building on the strengths of its people and places, particularly focused on the key areas of environment, community and economy.

Key achievements over the past year have included:

Boosting the support available to residents within their own communities through the opening of 46 talk community hubs and a talk community kitchen providing healthy meals;

Supporting local businesses to grow and thrive with investment in new buildings such as the Shell Store business incubation centre, and helping hundreds of businesses access £46m of grant funding towards equipment, new premises and faster broadband.

More than 1,000 independent retailers across the county benefitted from custom through the Shop Local prepaid card scheme funded through covid recovery monies

Encouraging people to get more active in how they live, with free swimming lessons for around 10,000 children and adults; and how they travel, with dozens of new e-bikes for hire in the City and over 60,000 free bus journeys at weekends – all helping to improve overall health and wellbeing.

Priorities for the coming year outlined in the Delivery Plan focus on:

Environment - reducing the amount of household waste generated in the county; investment in Hereford to improve public spaces and travel in the City, reducing the carbon footprint of the council and the county

Community – investing in services to improve the health and wellbeing of children, development of affordable housing and council-owned care facilities, supporting the opening of further talk community hubs

Economy – supporting business opportunity and growth, implementing developments plans for the towns and City including the redevelopment of Hereford library and museum, helping to secure better accessibility to broadband throughout the county

Full details can be found in the Delivery Plan 2022/23

Cllr Liz Harvey, Cabinet member finance, corporate services and planning, said: “We are now half way through our delivery of the ambitions we outlined in our County Plan, and despite the past two years being the most challenging any of us have ever experienced so much has been achieved.

“We set out clearly how we aimed to protect and enhance our environment, strengthen communities and support our economy. Over the past two years we have supported some of our most vulnerable residents and helped create more resilient communities, invested in business and growth, and offered opportunities for people of all ages to get more active – to name only a few of the ways our activities have benefitted everyone in our county. And all at a time when we were also responding to a pandemic.

“We have taken great strides but there is still more to do. We are realistic about the scale of the challenge - rising costs and changing demands means facing tough choices about where to focus resources. This delivery plans sets out how over the coming year council services will enable residents to get on with their lives day-to-day and provide them with support when they need it, invest in services for children, encourage and assist business to thrive, and how we will work to protect and enhance the beautiful county we live in.”

West Mercia Police carried out vehicle checks site on the A49 at Moreton on Lugg in Herefordshire.

Several defects identified including two overweight vehicles, one motorist with no insurance and two motorists with no licences.

Two people arrested, one for drug drive and one for drink drive who blew 98!

West Mercia Police (OPU Herefordshire)

Today marks 40 years since the start of the Falklands War.

Spare a thought today for the brave 255 British service personnel that never came home and for those that still suffer.

Let us always remember the heroic sacrifices made by our military heroes.

#LestWeForget

Plans for new care home to forge ahead amid rising pressure

From The Hereford Times 29th October 2021

HEREFORDSHIRE Council will be developing a new 80-bed care home in the county due to rising pressure.

Existing care home capacity in the county will begin to feel the squeeze as the number of older and disabled people with complex needs rises, the council said.

It's led to the cabinet agreeing to forge ahead with plans for a new 80-bed home.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of a privately run care home due to flood damage, Herefordshire Council opened the Hillside Care Centre in Hereford in 2020.

The plan is for the new facility to offer a high-quality care environment, maximising the use of advanced technology to support the needs of residents.

Potential sites will now be explored, including consulting with key stakeholders and developing the business plan.

Coun Pauline Crockett, cabinet member for health and adult wellbeing, said: “I’m delighted that approval has been granted for a new care home facility which will support the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in the county.

“Care homes play a vital role in the community, and this development will provide an opportunity to connect care and support services more effectively.”

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Surely this is the answer for a new care home - seems to have been overlooked and costing less than building from scratch. Of the 60 bedrooms, 32 are located in an annex near the main building and offer extra privacy and parking right outside the door.